Multiple damper and control



July 18, 1939. 1-1. G. CHANDLER MULTIPLE DAMPER AND CONTROL Filed Nov. 23, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 2 fl l/ Kr 3 M u w i x l r! M 5 EM LI l WW Z4 a J x w V JP Z v A? a w W 2 W M x W H y 1939- H. G. CHANDLER 2,166,623

MULTIPLE DAMPER AND CONTROL Filed Nov; 23, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I INVENTOR. Mry 4 /4 0 4 BY Y ATTORNEYS;

lPatented' July- 18,1939 2,166,623

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,160,623 MULTIPLE DAMPER. AND common I Harry G. Chandler, Lakewood, Ohio Application November 23,1934, Serial No. 754,478 6 Claims. (orr 236-1) This invention relates to stack and check temperature responsive controls more directly dampers and control mechanism therefor, the responsive to the stack, bonnet, or water or steam principal features being illustratively shown in temperature or pressure. connection with a thermostatically controlled A third type of controls includes the barometric check damper for hot air furnaces. (3011151015 y which a balanced d p i5 P 5 The principal object of the present invention ated due to changes in the stack draft of the is to control the admission of air to the furnace furnace. flue in response to variations in temperature or In the room type control, over-running and other conditions at different and separate localagg of 'fumace temp f 10- tions, and also in response to barometric conbustion are common, due ,to the fact that the 10 ditions. changes in the heat provided by the furnace are o e pecifically. an. object isto provide a 1 not reflected promptly in the room. This action control mechanism which is responsive to room is pa a y v c e y Supplemental temperatures, furnace hood'temperatures, the trols but such separate supplemental controls flue gas temperature, and also the furnace stack. are comparatively expensive and complicated. l5

- draft. M The purely mechanical type responsive to the Another object is to provide athermost'atically furnace is not satisfactory due to the fact that operated damper mechanism which is also op- ,it operates independently of outside weather con-- erated additionally in response to an electrical ditions'and room temperatures, and consequently heating element which heating element, in turn, may either over-heat orunder-heat the rooms. 20 may operate in response to conditions other than The barometric type, however, does operate in those directly affecting and operating the response to outside weather conditions, but not damper. p a in response to room temperatures and only in- Another object is toprovide a thermostatically directly in response to furnace temperatures.

' controlled electricmotor for the operation of Consequently, if the three types of; controls can 5 damper and the like in which the electric cur-' be embodied in a single unitary .structure, prerent'is utilized only during successive intervals determined uniform temperatures and more cfof actual operation of the damper. fective control of the furnace is possible and Heretofore it has been the practice to control gradual and eiilcient changes in the rate of comthe draft conditions of the furnace by means bustion and application of he resultant heat can 30 of separate controls responsive to room tem-' be effected. peratures, flue gas temperatures, or differentials In the present structure all such controls have in barometric pressure resulting from the. stack been embodied in a simple and effective mechaand outside weather conditions, and a specific nism which may readily be installed in furnaces object of the present invention is to combine all of the type commonly used without any substa'nsuch controls into a single. device in which the tialalteration in the furnace. P operation of the various parts are so coordinated Referring to the drawings: that the acceleration and deceleration in the Fig-1 is an end elevation of a damper mecharate of combustion and application of the heat nism embodying the principles of th'e-preseni 40 are more uniform,, gradual; and eflicient, and invention; v overand under-running of-thedesired high and Fig. 2 is a reduced cross sectional view taken low temperatures are at the points of use subon a plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; stantially eliminated. Fig. 3 is asectional view taken on aplane In order to better appreciate the present inindicated by the line 3-3 of. Fig. 1

vention, a brief review of the prior art is desir- Fig. 4is an end elevation of the solenoid motor; 45 able. Heretofore, check and stack dampers have Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the motor and been operated by motors controlled, in turn, by is taken on a plane indicated .by the line 5-'-5 room thermostats and frequently supplemented on Fig. 4; 1 p with various types. of electrical limit controls Fig. 6 is a diagram of the electrical circuits which operate in response to changes in condiused inconnection with the present invention; tions influenced by the furnace, such as theand a .bonnet te e a stack p a ure, and Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration of the steam pressure. electrical circuit between the thermostat and the Again,-there are non-electric bi-metallic-mechseienoid motor.

anisms,diaphragms ofzthe bellows typannd other Referring to the "figures, the principal fea- 55 be controlled solely by operation of a check.

damper of adequate capacity, the entire stack draft and consequently passage of air through the fuel bed being substantially eliminated by fully opening the check damper even though the damper D is open.

For this purpose a sleeve I of larger cross sectional area than the usual check flue, if required, is connected to the check flue F of.the

furnace, coaxially therewith, a suitable reduction sleeve, not shown, being provided for eifecting the connection of the sleeve I and check flue F ii the sleeve I is larger in cross section than the check flue of' the particular furnace. At the inlet end of the sleeve I is a damper 2, carried by suitable spring spider arms 2 which yieldably engage the interior wall of the ,sleeve I and permit axial movement of the damper 2 for regulating the effective size of the air inlet opening into the sleeve I. With the damper ,D fully open and while maintaining a hot fire which produces a full capacity effective stack draft in the furnace, the damper 2 is moved to a position such that the opening between it and the inlet end of the sleeve I permits the entrance of suflicientair to eflect the proper balance with the full stack draft for substantially eliminating the how of air into the furnace through the damper D. After the damper 2 has been regulated properly, it remains in the regulated position.

Within the sleeve I is a butterfly damper l which is operableby a motor 5, mounted on the outsideof the sleeve I, for'controlling the rate of combustion thereafter, one open position of the damper 4" being designated by the dot and dash line la in Fig. 2; For mounting the motor 5 on the sleeve I. a suitable collar I is rigidly secured to the sleeve I and accommodates a bushing l which, in turn, is rigidly secured to the housing plate 2 of the motor, the bushing I being secured in the collar by means of a suitable set screw. The driving shaft! of the motor is rotatably mounted in the bushing 1 and protrudes into the sleeve I at one'end to engage a chuck II' which, in turn, is connected to the damper 4 for rotating the same consequent upon rotation of th shaft II.

The usual household current supply ifsof'such v high voltage that it is desirable to uses. step- ,down transformer through which power is supplied to the motor, to volts being entirely adequate. Bince alternating electriccurrent is" most commonly used, a motor suitable for use, in connection therewith is shown, the motor also being operable by D. 0. current.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 4 and 5 the motor may comprise an armature I2 rigidly secured to the'shaf't I land operable to rotate the shaft when the armature rotates. Since it is only necessary to rotate the damper through an angle of 90 to fully open and close it, the motor is pref-' erablyofthe oscillating type. The armature I2 may comprise an :arcuate laminated ironcore concentric with the shift I. and providedmide way. between its ends with a radial spoke II ter-;: minating'in a hub I l rigidly secured to the shaft III. Mountedflon' the housing plate 8 are a pair ofsolenoid coils and I. respectively, each have ing a central opening through which the corref sponding portion of the armature I2 extends, the

opening of each being suflicientl'y large to permit free passage of the armature as it rotates in either direction. Each of the coils is connected to wards the ends, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Consequently, there is no possibility that the armature and either coil, when energized, will reach a magnetic balance but the armature will continue to be moved through the coil energized by the coil until such movement is arrested by extraneous means.

Mounted on the plate 8 is a support Ila carrying a common electric'contacter II which is connected to one side of the electric power circuit. At opposite sides of the common contacter I'I are movable contacters II and II respectively, the contacter It being connected to one terminal I8a of the coil I5 and the contacter. I! being con nected to one terminal In of the coil II. The other terminals, and 2| respectively of the coils are arranged to be connected to the opposite side of the electric power circuit. Mounted on the hub II of the armature is an operating pin posite directions and. in so doing engages and moves the contacte'rs II and I! successively out of contact with the common contacter I1.

Referring to Fig. 7, when the'armature has rotated to the right its full distance the shoulder 22 strikes the contactor I8 and breaks. contact between it and the common-contacter II. Upon rotation of the armature in the opposite direction, the shoulder permits the contacter II to return into contact with the contacter I1 and upon continued movement in the oppoflte direction or to the ,left moves the contacter II out of-contact with the contacter II. The contacters I O and I! are mounted on'resilient arms so as to return into contact 'with the contacter II when unobstructed by the shoulder and are electrically insulated from the common contacter and from each other and, if the support Ila is of conducting material, are likewise insulated refroln.

Assuming that the coil II is ene ,thearmature rotates to the right past its dead center pomtion and upon continued movementtoward the right a predetermined distance, the circuit to. the ,I' is disconnected andtheother circuit to th coil It is connected. Conversely if the armature is swung in the oppodtedirectlon' a predetermined distance, the circuit to the coil I is disconnected and the circuit to the coil II again connected.

In order to insure movement oithe armature the full distance to the right or left, a dead center spring 24 is provided, the spring being connected at end to the armature at'a'point preferably along a radius through the midportion of the armature and well out from the hub II, the other end of the spring being connected to a suitable stationary element such as-the support IIa, preferably on a line through the center of rotation of the armature and the midportion of the armature when the same is at dead center position. The point of connection of the spring to the support l'lo is on the opposite side of the center of rotation from the point of connection of the spring to the armature. Thespring is always maintained in stressed condition, the greatest stress occurring when the armature is on dead center. Therefore, if the armature is moved "slightly past dead center in either direction the spring will urge it in the samedirection until it is stopped by a suitable abutment, for example, by engagement of the spoke with one of the coils or engagement of the ends of the armature and any suitable means. The mere overbalance of the armature shown will likewise cause such continued movement of the armature but is not as positive, In this way the operation of the motor to a desired position is effected and rebounding of the armature by st ng its abutment is substantially eliminated.

Thus the contacters I8 and 19 are so arranged that when the armature has rotated considerably past dead center toward the particular coil connected in the circuit by a given contacter that contacter breaks contact with-the common con tacten.

. If additional means are provided to make and break the circuits to the coils selectively, the damper can be moved readily to the desired position by rotation of the ar'mature in the required direction and upon movement of the armature suillciently to move the damper to either position, it will immediately break the circuit of the coil moving it to that position-and connect the circuit of the coil that is to move it to the other position. Consequently in either circuit the current does not continue to flow but is immediately cut ofi when the desired position is reached, and no current is used again until the selective means are operated to close the other circuit. Upon closing the other circuit, however, I a similar operation occurs.- Consequently thecurrent is utilized only during the instant the armature is actually moving.

For controlling this damper in response to term perature changes, a thermostat]. is provided.

' The thermostat may be of the usual double contact type having stationary contacters l2 and 33,

electrically insulated from each other and a common movable contacter. cooperable selectively with the contacters 32 and 33; The contacter 32, for example, is connected to the terminal 20 of the coil i5 and the contacter 33 is-connected to the terminal ll of the coil it. The movable contacter 34 is connected to the side of the alternating current supply opposite to the terminal ll of the motor. The movable contacter 34 is carried by a bi-metallic lever 35 which is responsive to temperature changes. The lever 35 is preferably arranged in the formillustrated so that upon heating it-moves to the right and upon cooling circuit to the coil l6 and making contact in thecircuit in the coil when cooled to a 'predeterminedlower degree. 7

Referring to Fig. '7, and the motor is connected to the damper, sothat the damper is open when the armature is moved to the left and closed when the armature is moved to the right, it is apparent thatupon heating of the thermostat to a predetermined degree, the armature will be made operable to open. the damper. The armature will then. remain in thisopen position until subsequent cooling of the room or source to which the thermostat is responsive. With the opening of damper 4 a lowering of the temperature readily occurs. movement of the armature to position to open the, damper, the circuit completed for this purpose by the thermostat is broken immediately by the contacter I9 and the other circuit which was already broken by the thermostat is connected to 15 the motor through the contacter l8. Consequently no further operation will be effected so long as the thermostat remains in contact with the contacter 33 or intermediate the contacters 32 and ill and electrical energy is utilized onlyfor an instant. Immediately upon cooling of the ther mostat, however, to a sufficient degree to effect contact of the contacter ll with the element 82, the circuit connected by the contacter l8 tothe motor is completed by the thermostat and operates the motor in. the opposite direction whereupon this latter circuit is then immediately broken and the, first circuit closed'except for the thermostat. Y

It is-a'pparent from the foregoing that the main damper I is controlled directly in response to room temperatures as above set forth. However, it is desirable that air be admitted to the furnace or furnace stack, for checking or otherwise controlling combustion, in response to temperature's or other conditions at a location dlffer-- ent from the room thermostat", for example, at

the furnace bonnet, flue, or at any other desired location remote fromthe first thermostat. For

accomplishing. this purpose, a damper lll is provided, which for convenience in installation, econ-' omy in manufacture, and simplicity of control is carried-on the main damper 4, thus becoming supplemental thereto in the particular illustrativev example herein shown. provided with an opening 40a of adequate size to check the furnace materially and to accommodate the damper 10 within its limits with just sufflcient clearance to permit the damper 40 to swing freely therethrough about its pivots 42. The

damper III is secured to the pivots" so that the pivotal axis is slightly above its center, thus exposing a larger area below the pivotal axis than above. Consequently, the damper 40 'normally .retains its upright position, but the larger area presented below the pivotal axis causes the damper to open inwardly when the atmosphere pressure exerted on its outer exposed face is greater than the pressure within the flue. A-hood ll is provided on the damper 1 for preventing entrance 0 or air at the upper portion of the opening "awhen the damper 40 is partially open. In order to additionally adjust the over balance of the damper 4! so that it mayrespond topredetermined differentials in pressure within and outside of the flue, a weight 43 is provided on thedamper 40 below the pivotal axis so as to urge the damper to a normally closed position. The weight 43 is mounted on a suitable screw threaded. post 44 carried in the slot 45 in the damper 40, the post being slidable along-"the slot and'changing thev balancing effect of the weight 43. Additional adjustment of the weight is aiforded due to its threaded engagement with the post by virtue of which it may be moved nearer to and farther As explained above, upon 10 The damper 4 is 45 ever, to permit the differential pressure control to completely check the draft and thus prevent a satisfactory acceleration in the rate of combustion. Such action would upset the desired resuits which are secured by the conjoint action of the damper 40 and the damper 4. The damper 40 opens sufliciently under differential pressure conditions to effect auniform rate of acceleration of combustion under changing differential pressure conditions. With an accelerationof combustion there will usually occur higher flue or stack temperatures, the increase of which should I crease or decrease be stopped at some predetermined temperature so as to avoid possible overheating of the furnace or too great an increase in the rate of combustion. These factors become difficult to control after they have unduly increased; Consequently an additional means of control cooperatingywith the damper 40 is utilized to control any undue inin the results produced by the damper,

For this purpose, a thermostatically responsive.

device may be provided and positioned to be heated by the flue gases for additionally operating the damper ll.

. Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, a bi-metailic coil 50, mounted on a suitable bracket SI rigidlysecured to the shell I of the main damper is provided.

The bracket ii is positioned so that the coil,

when mounted thereon, isexposed to the flue gases inside of the flue between the furnace and the maindamper and out of the path of the incoming cooler air. In the form illustrated wherein the device is located on the check flue, the coil ,5! is beyond theupright discharge flue so that all gases issuing from the furnace immediately graduallyrocks the damper ll to adjusting the normal tension of the coil l0.

. heating. The abutment a inwardly toward the,

contact with. the coil. Additionally, a suitable shield I is proyided'so that the cool air admitted by the checking operation does not directly cool the coil 50. Carried on the bracket i-lis a yoke H-inwhlch is mounted .a rotatable shaft 54, the end of which, adjacent the main damper, is curved at an angle to 'the axis of the shaft I4 to-provide an abutment Ila, arranged to operatethe damper 4| consequent upon rotation of 'the shaft 54.

One end of the thermostatic coil is rigidly fixed to the bracket II and theother end to the lug "a, secured on the shaft ll so that,-upon heating and cooling of the coil, the shaft 54 is ro-- tated. The lug "a may berotated to different positions on the shaft 84. and secured in the desired rotated position by a lock, screw llb for Carried on the damper ll isan abutment I8 positioned to ibe' engaged by the abutment as to effect proper cooperation between the thermostatic ooiland the damper ll. In the form illustrated, the coil-IO is arranged to swing the abut-f ment Ila upwardly to the left consequent upon thereupon the. under side of the abutment II, which is cated above thejpivotal axis of the damper I and i an open'posiof the damper disposed furnaceufrom main tion with the lower end damper ll. Consequently, because of this position of the hood ll, cool air admitted by the damper ll is directed downwardly and into the furnace flue,the coil "preferably being arranged above the center and to one side of the damper ll so as to be out of the path of the incoming cooler air. Additional adjustment of the operation of the damper, is eilected by mounting theabutment I so that it may be adjusted to different positions in the form illustrated. The abutment i is mounted in a suitable slot 56 in the damper ll for movement to different positions on the damper and relative to the abutment 54a. The outer end 55a of the abutment 55 is curved so that the abutment "a will not swing out of engagement therewith. Furthermore by swinging the outer end 550 of the abutment about the axis of the portion 55 thereof, different rates of opening and closing of the damper 40 near its limits of operation can be eflected. By adjusting the position of the abutment 55 or the lug Sla the damper can beregulated to open and close at the desired temperature.

From the foregoing it is clear that damper means are provided which are responsive to numerous different conditions, for'example, to room temperature, stack temperature and differentials in pressure within and outside of the flue. In some instances, however, it is still further desirable to admit air in response to the bonnettemperature of the furnace or to temperatures or other conditions at locations diflerent from the room thermostat and flue. For accomplishing.

this purpose an electrical heating element 68 is provided, the element 68 preferably being suitably insulated to avoid fouling by'foreign matter in flue gases. The element 8! is connected in an electrical circuit with a thermostat 51, so that upon closing the circuit by the thermostat the .element heats electrically ,and thus either alone, or in conjunction with local heat conditions, operates the call I. For example, if the-thermostat I1 is placed adjacent the furnace bonnet, and

a sufficiently high temperature is reached at the bonnet before the flue gases have heated the coil II to effect the checking operation; the thermostat closes and the heating element a thereupon very rapidly heats the coil as to accelerate this checking operation. While the heating element I has been shown in connection with a damper which is supplemental to the main damper, obviously it would be eifectlve for operating the main damper itself, and could be used with any of the make and break electric circuit control responsive to steam pressures or other.

conditions and with a thermostatic coil responsive to it alone or to it and local heat conditions together. Thus'the checking operation is effected response to conditions at both local and remote Referring to 6,'assuming that the damper 2 has been adjusted to provide the maximum checking eflectand the damper D of the furnace has been adjusted to the desired open position for the particular house installation, obviously, full controLgf the rate of combustion can be effectcd by Operation of the check damper means herein pmvided and undue heating of the room .or furnace or undue lagging or over-rimning of the heatcan be eliminated. For instance, lithe acceleration of the rate of combustion becomes too intense, the stackpull'tends to increase rapid- 1y. This is first partly checked by .the operation .of thedamper ll, due .to the greater pressure of the Outside air relative to that within the flue Q Thusthe rate of combustion is slowed down and the rate of increase is more gradual. If, however, this is not sufficient, or the flue becomes unduly heated the coil 50 operates and more rapidly and widely opens the damper 4| to effect additional checking operation. It may be, however, that sufiicient gases have been evolved to heat the hood of the furnace unduly, in which event the thermostat 51 will operate the heating element 56 to heat the coil 50 additionally and even more rapidly opening the damper it so that the furnace is additionally checked and the rate of increase in combustion is greatly reduced. Evenually, however, the room temperature is brought up to that required, in which case the thermostat 30 operates thus opening the main damper [and fully checking the furnace without the necessity of closing damper D.

Since the abutment 54a engages the under side of the abutment 55, it is obvious that-it will hold it in a certain predetermined position. For example, it holds the damper 40 partially open and permits movement of the damper ll to a more open positionby barometric pressure, uninfluenced by the abutment 54a. If, however, the flue temperature is at a high degree when the main damper opens, which is the usual condition, the coil 50 has operated the abutment 51a so as to hold the damper 40 in substantially horizontal position and parallel to the damper 1, thus affording full capacity of check at the right time. Immediately a gradual cooling of the stack temperature begins which causes the thermostatic coil 50 to cool and slowly allow the damper 40 to swing to a vertical position so asto act as a partial battle of air passing the main damper. This prevents too rapid checking of the draft and consequently too great deceleration of combustion, thus rendering the eventual drop in temperature more gradual and uniform and anticipating to some extent the eventual drop in room temperature which will eventually close the damper 4. Thus a closer balance between the rate of combustion and the room temperature is effected.

If under the conditions above recited. a window were suddenly opened and the room chilled, the thermostat 3. would operate to effect closing of the damper 4. However, this would not cause too great increase in the rate of combustion if the furnace were already supplying suflicient heat or so plying heat as rapidly as it can be carried to the room, without overheating of the furnace due to the other controls.

Thus, in any case, though the furnace may be partially-checked or controlled byv either of the check or stack dampers, in response to any one of the controls, it cannot be completely unchecked except upon the conjoint operation of all of them.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A damper mechanism for furnaces comprising a main flue damper, thermostatic means responsive to temperature conditions at a location remote from the fine for controlling operationof said main damper, a supplemental damper carried by the main damper, and thermostatic means operable in response to temperature con- 3 ditions created by the furnace adiacent the supthermostatically changes in temperature remote from the furnace ment cooperable plemental damper to operate said supplemental damper.

2. A damper mechanism for furnaces comprising a main damper, a supplemental damper carried thereby and movable by diiferentials in pressure at opposite faces thereof independently of the main damper, means for operating the main damper independently of the supplemental damphaving a flue comprising a main damper, a supplemental damper' carried thereby, means operative in response to heat conditions at a given location remote from the flue for opening and closing the main damper, and additional means operative in response to heat conditions in the hue of the furnace for operating the supplemental damper.

4. A check damper mechanism for a furnace having a stack, comprising a sleeve adapted for connection at one end to and in communication with the furnace stack, and being open at the other end for receiving outside air, a main damper mounted in the sleeve for movement to open and closed positi means ve to changes intemperature created by the furnace for opening and closing the main damper, a thermostatic lever. means carried by the sleeve and responsiv'e'to changes in temperature of the products of combustion from the furnace, a supplemental damper carried on, the main damper, and means operatively connecting the thermostatic lever means and supplemental damper for opening and closing the supplemental damper thereby.

5.- A damper mechanism for a furnace having a flue, comprising a damper operable by differentials in pressure of gases in the flue and the atmosphere to admit air to the furnace, thermostatic means tothe temperature of the products of combustion passing through said flue to'partially open said damper means, means adapted to heat said thermostatic means and responsive means responsive to adapted to control said heating means. 'thdamper mechanismfor afumacestructure having a flue, comprising a damper operated by differentials in within and outsidethefluetoadmitairtotheflue,anabutment on'said damper, a lever'having an abutwith the damper abutment,

means responsive to heat conditions influenced vby the furnace to operate the lever and move said damper to predetermined open positions through the medium of said abutments and being operatively disengaged'from said damper abutment for permitting additional movemmt of the opened positions by said dampertomore wid ly within and outside the diflerentials in pressure vfluleuninflnencedbysnidlever.

HARRY a cmnmm. 

